Limerick FC manager Tommy Barrett will be a busy man for the next two weeks as he tries to prepare his players for a massive two legged playoff against Finn Harps. The Shannonsiders went down 4-0 at home to St. Patrick’s Athletic in their last home game of the regular campaign.
Afterwards, Barrett spoke to the local media about how difficult it will be for his side to raise themselves against a confident Harps side. Barrett defended his side’s record in the premier division.
“Well look it’s a different division. When you look at it last year it was a 12 team division and we won ten games in that with a bigger budget and we won 7 this year in a tougher division. We only had Bray below us whereas last we had Harps, Drogheda and Galway being beaten and we still only won 10 games.”
Barrett was clearly annoyed at the insinuation that the club have under-performed in recent years as he stated that Limerick is “not a soccer city”.
“We are not a soccer city. We haven’t produced players in 30 or 40 years. We have sent four players to England in the last few years. We have to be realistic in where we are at. Harps will be the favorites. They have the momentum and have only been beaten by Dundalk since June. The one thing I’d be hoping for is that playing at a higher level all year will stand to us.”
When pushed on his comments about the lack of talent coming through, Barrett says the gap between junior football in Limerick and Airtricity League football is too big.
“It’s a mixture of a lot of things. You are competing with so many sports in Limerick. Where is soccer in that pecking order. Okay we won stuff in junior but it’s a different level completely. Even when you go to the first division it’s a level above. Don’t get me wrong there are some very good teams and very good players (in junior soccer) but is the commitment level and level of professionalism there? It’s junior soccer and that’s amateur and it’s different from what we are trying to achieve at a professional level.”
Barrett bemoaned the lack of resources at his disposal and stated that some young players are not ready for the step up. He reserved praise for the likes of Karl O’Sullivan and Will Fitzgerald.
To listen to the full interview, click on the link below:
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